1 DECEMBER, WORLD DAY OF FASTING AND NOVIOLENCE, IN FAVOUR OF WOMEN IN PROVISIONAL AFGHAN GOVERNMENT

The Radical Transnational Party, in collaboration notably with the Italian Radical and members of the Lista Bonino in the EP, will launch on Saturday 1 December a "satyagraha", world day for the youth and non-violence in favour of the presence of women in the future provision Afghan government. On 28 November, more than 4,200 people from more than 100 countries in the world, of varied cultures, all religions and all political leanings, had all adhered to this day. It is necessary to have a consistent representation of women in this provisional government. We have an abundance of declarations on this issue, from various international institutions, but the more paragraphs added on human rights and women, in UN resolutions for example, the less we see women in powerâ€¦", said Emma Bonino to the press, European parliamentarian and initiator of this world day. This satyagrah is situated in a Ghandi tradition of non-violence, underlined Mrs Bonino when recalling that the European Parliament and the Commission where both the only institutions to have "spoken of the situation of Afghan women as of 1997 and 1998, with their campaign one flower for the women of Kabul. The European parliamentarian Elena Valenciano, during the same press conference, called for "less lamentations and more actions for these women, and the Belgian Liberal Nathalie Gilson asserted that there is no longer any reason that, because they have spent five years in obscurity, these women are not in the government. It is necessary to work in the long-term for change, stated Anne-Marie Lizin, Belgian Senator and former European parliamentarian. As for the President of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok, felt that to favour reconciliation, it is crucial that women occupy important positions in Afghanistan. Finally, the EU Council President also underlined the role that women must play today in the rebuilding of civil, political and economic life in Afghanistan.